Coin collectors, coin dealers, and Auction Galleries commonly use some type of plastic holder (also known as a “case” or “holder”) to mount, protect, and display their coins, medals, and other collectibles. These holders are typically comprised of two housings or “plate members” that mate and lock together with the numismatic item enclosed therebetween inside a chamber formed by the two housings. In some cases, the holder is made to be tamper-proof by the sealing together of the housings by ultrasonic or adhesive sealing processes. Such is often the case when coins are graded, certified and/or authenticated by appraisers. Grading is a way of determining the physical condition of a coin. Once the coin has been graded, the coin is encapsulated in a tamper-evident, sealed, high-security case as a method of reinforcing its grade and authenticity. In addition, the unique certification number permanently sealed inside each coin case may be utilized by the coin's owner as a reliable means of identification after the coin enters the marketplace.
Two of the most prominent coin certification services are Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, Calif. (“PCGS”) and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of Sarasota, Fla. (“NGC”). The number of coin holders used to encapsulate coins that have been graded and/or certified by these organizations is in the millions.
It is a common practice of coin collectors, dealers and auction galleries to stack PCGS coin holders on top of each other for grouping, display, storage and/or transport. The same practice is performed for NGC coin holders. While PCGS holders possess surface architecture that enables them to be vertically stacked, they are not compatible with NGC coin holders, and vice versa. Accordingly, owners of both types of holders are limited to creating PCGS stacks and NGC stacks, but not combinations of both types. In this regard, the two coin holder types are “non-compatible”. This is a significant shortcoming of these products because it is of considerable advantage to the collector and dealer to group their coins by various attributes (i.e.: denomination, series, mint state, proof etc.) and not which grading service provided certification.
To achieve stackability of PCGS and NGC non-compatible coin holders, a coin collector can send the graded coin for “cross over service”, which entails removing the coin from its original holder to another service compatible coin holder. This is an inconvenience that cost money, time and involves a risk of the coin being lost, stolen or damaged during handling. The coin may even be declined for crossover due to the varied opinion in grading standards. In this case the collector would be forced to sell the coin for another more compatible coin. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a means for facilitating the stacking of non-compatible coin holders.
The following patents relating to the storage of coins and the like, are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,134,546November 2006Seligman et alCoin Holder and Display DeviceU.S. Pat. No. 6,814,227November 2004Seligman et alCoin Holder and Display DeviceDes 423,757April 2000BriggsCoin CaseU.S. Pat. No. 6,029,807February 2000LoveSecurity Case with Stress Contour . . .U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,761January 1997OwenCoin Display HolderU.S. Pat. No. 5,109,977May 1992MayerTamperproof Coin CaseU.S. Pat. No. 5,069,347December 1991NewmanLocking Coin Display HolderU.S. Pat. No. 5,043,650August 1991MayerTamperproof Coin CaseU.S. Pat. No. 5,011,005April 1991BoydProtective Coin HolderU.S. Pat. No. 4,915,214April 1990WiederHolder for Numismatic ItemsU.S. Pat. No. 4,592,465June 1986SteinCoin Display CaseU.S. Pat. No. 4,402,399September 1983FriessSystem and Storage of Coins . . .U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,649March 1974RingleCoin Holding DeviceU.S. Pat. No. 3,788,464January 1974SkinnerHolder for Disc Like ObjectsU.S. Pat. No. 3,751,128August 1973SkinnerDisplay Case and Assembly . . .U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,335January 1972KramerNumismatic Coin or Medal DisplayCase
All patents, patent applications, provisional applications, and publications referred to or cited herein, or from which a claim for benefit of priority has been made, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of this specification.